shop local
The best underrated boutiques, markets, and specialty stores (think bookstores, home decor, stationary, plant stores etc.) in NYC that are currently open right now.
boutiques
meatpacking / designer
Owned by 27 year old Telsha Anderson, t.a. opened its doors this past summer (the original mid-March opening date was postponed for obvious reasons). Carefully hand-curated with a selection of brands from all around the world, t.a. features cool, unique pieces you won’t find elsewhere.
*Black-owned business / woman-owned business
west village / designer
If you love oversized silhouettes, then this upscale store is for you. With billowing dresses from Ulla Johnson and roomy trench coats from Rejina Pyo, oroboro will help you craft the idyllic, effortless, comfy-chic style so essential to aspirational quarantine-living (think effortless Instagram influencer-at-home vibes). A beautiful selection of handcrafted ceramics, as well as apothecary goods, shoes, artisanal jewelry, and other accessories complete the space.
*Woman-owned business
soho / contemporary apparel
With outposts in Beverly Hills, Soho, and Brooklyn, Tags is another delightful bicoastal boutique. Filled with elevated basics, Tags features curated fashionable, packable, and easy-to-wear pieces that are perfect for people who love to travel.
*Woman-owned business
lower east side / vintage + designer clothing + accessories
Assembly features an elevated but eclectic assortment of vintage and designer pieces. Located in the heart of LES, Assembly fully embodies the gritty downtown cool, edgy upscale, and diverse cultural vibe of the neighborhood. Expect to find the full gamut of women’s and men’s clothing, shoes, accessories, beauty, jewelry, and bags in this funky, minimalist space. I found my favorite pair of tortoiseshell sunglasses here a few years ago from the Swedish brand Sun Buddies.
east village + williamsburg + boerum hill / ready-to-wear clothing
Created for women by women, Meg carries woman-owned shoe and accessory brands and namesake RTW pieces designed by the founder Megan Kinney, who first opened in East Village in 1994 when she was 22. With multiple locations in Manhattan and Brooklyn and one in Toronto, Meg has since expanded. Featuring classic, roomy silhouettes perfect for work-to-weekend dressing, Meg is for the on-the-go woman who wants to look put together without being overly dressed up.
*Woman-owned business
This Greenpoint boutique carries an array of Brooklyn-chic, Madewell-esque brands like LF Markey, Mod Ref, and more. With both women’s and men’s clothing as well as accessories and shoes, Alter is a spacious shop full of indie labels to peruse when you’re in the neighborhood. I scored a very inexpensive but extremely chic pair of cat eye tortoiseshell sunglasses from here.
*Due to covid, they are limiting capacity and are not allowing customers inside their fitting rooms.
soho / clothing, accessories, beauty + home / $$$
An e-commerce marketplace first, Wolf & Badger’s New York physical outpost is one of two (the other store is located in London). A marketplace of independent designers, Wolf & Badger functions as a mini, highly curated modern department store. With an abundance of vibrant prints, brightly colored jewelry, sparkly bags, and more, Wolf & Badger would be an ideal store for Emily from Emily in Paris.
west village / clothing
With a pre-pandemic soft opening, Lahn is another new face to the NYC retail scene. (When one door closes another one opens, am I right?) Featuring festive box clutches, structural earrings, patterned pants, and chunky knits, this cozy boutique will be sure to have something that catches your eye.
brooklyn heights / clothing + accessories
While many boutiques in the city are pricey af, Article& has a cute selection of clothing, accessories, and shoes that are available for affordable prices (for reference you can find dresses for around $100 or less, and sweaters that range from around $40 and up). When you actually want to shop, come browse the indie labels at this Cobble Hill gem (your wallet and closet will thank you later).
soho / elevated contemporary clothing + accessories
This NYC newcomer only opened its doors in August, but it looks like it has always been on its little area on Prince Street. With sister stores in San Francisco, Isalis is officially bicoastal, and the merchandise it features reflects this east coast/west coast sensibility. Puff sleeve smocked mini dresses are offset by cozy sweater dresses, and brands like Nanushka, Intentionally Blank, Just Female, Lisa Says Gah, and Agolde all live together in this small but inviting space.
*Woman-owned business
meatpacking district / department store / $$$
Another relative NYC newcomer, this indoor marketplace of curated brands gives space to feel and try on goods that (most of which), were previously exclusively only available online. Nestled in the Meatpacking district next to Chelsea Market, Neighborhood Goods is another excuse to spend the day in the area. With an ever-changing rotation of brands, this modern-day department store knows how to stay relevant and exciting.
home decor
lower east side + midtown / $$
This minimalist store gives off a clean, Cali-boho aesthetic that suits my boho-chic home decor style. With fun items like alpaca throws, navajo rugs, and ceramic bowls, Côte à Coast has a little bit of everything to suit your needs.
markets
union square / farmer’s market / $$
Frequented by locals and tourists alike, the Union Square Farmer’s Market is a popular spot. It can get very crowded on the weekends, but it is a one-stop shop for farm fresh produce, flowers, potted plants, handmade soaps, and more. A year-round affair, the market has seasonal delicacies like peaches, sunflowers, and figs in the summer and apples, apple cider, and apple cider donuts in the fall. While some products and vendors are a bit pricy, if you play your cards right, you can spend less on groceries here than at your local grocery store. You can find ears of corn for 50 cents each, bunches of herbs for $2 - $3, and large bags of apples for $3 - $5.
lower east side / food + gifts / $$$
I am officially obsessed with this new market in the Lower East Side. With multiple stories, the Market Line is a spacious food and gift emporium that reminds me of European markets like the Glass Market in Copenhagen. I wish I lived closer so I could come shop regularly.
stationary
goods for the study
west village + nolita
A stationary store by McNally Jackson, the famed bookstore, Goods for the Study has all the pens, notebooks, desk supplies, cards, and more that you could ever dream of.
east village + west village + park slope
Filled with candles, greeting cards, planners, notebooks, cookbooks, and more, Pink Olive is a tiny, whimsical store to browse for yourself or for your gifting needs. Think Paper Source but make it NYC (and smaller and more curated). With brands like Rifle Paper Co. and inspirational books like Moorea Seal’s “The 52 Lists Project”, Pink Olive is cute, fun, and of-the-moment.
*Woman-owned business
west village
This quirky, colorful store is bursting with fun art prints, elegant cards, printed paper, and more. Founded by two sisters in 2005, Greenwich Letterpress has been going strong for the past 16 years! With custom invitations available as well as small giftable items like candles, notebooks, and more, Greenwich Letterpress is your one-stop shop for any of your stationary needs.
*Woman-owned business
bookstores
west village
While they have temporarily relocated from their iconic red building (due to building work), to a new location in the Village, Three Lives is still a thriving neighborhood bookstore. A fixture in the city since 1991, Three Lives has old school charm mixed in with touches of modernity, and a caring and knowledgeable staff.
soho / independent / $$
I love browsing this multi-level store with a wide selection of books in the middle of SoHo. A selection of magazines, cards, journals, and more can also be found here. If you’re looking for a new book to read or searching for the one your virtual book club picked out, Mcnally Jackson will have it.
east village + upper west side / independent / $-$$
A long snaking line can usually be found down the block from the renowned Strand bookstore, but there’s a reason why so many people want to go in to browse. Shelves of cheap used books line the exterior of the store so you can browse while you wait. With three floors and every possible book you could imagine from fiction, cookbooks, children’s books, comics, textbooks, guidebooks etc., floor-to-ceiling shelves stocked full with books, gifts, and more, you can easily spend hours in this bookstore.
plant shops
lower east side / $$
With various plant care workshops available as well (all virtual of course), the Sill is also a helpful resource on how to properly care for your plants. Being a notorious plant killer myself, I signed up for a Plants 101 course about a year ago, and can attest that I have had my most successful green streak ever since!
*Woman-owned and founded business
